Locomotive-pilot coupling.



Pa tented July 3|, I900.

a. w. BUTCHER. LUGOIIOTIVE PILOT COUPLING.

(Appliqation filed Feb. 8. 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(la Modal.)

s e s S .e Z 7 d m m: NORRIS PETERS 00,. wnaruu'mq, wuummon. o. a

No. 655,055. Patented July 3|, I900.

G. W. BUTCHER.

LOCOMOTIVE PILOT COUPLING.

(Application filed Feb. 8, 1900-) (No llodbl.) 2 Sheats-Sheet 2,

'NIT ED" STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE w. screens, on SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

LOCGMOTIVBPILOT COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming m of Letters Patent No. 655,055, datedJiily 31, 1900.

Application iiled February 8,1900. Serial No. 4,520. at; man.

To aZZ whom ama ba m:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. BUTCHER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at San. Antonio, in'the county of Bexarand State of tice and is calculated to withstand the shocks and strains to'which such devices are ordi-' narily subjected. l

With the foregoing in mind the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan View, partly in elevation, illustrating a locomotive-pilot equipped with my improved drop-coupling. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the broken line 2 2 of Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a detail longitudinal section taken in the plane indicated bythe broken line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. i is a longitudinal central section of the pilot and coupling thereon. Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section taken in the plane indicated by,

the broken line 5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an pressure cylinder, the piston therein, and the connection between said piston and the vertically-swinging draw-bar of the coupling.

Referring by letter to the said drawings, A is the front cross-bar of a locomotive.

B is the locomotive-pilot, provided in its longitudinal center with a space a. to receive the Vertically-swinging portion of my improved coupling when same is in its lower position, and G is the draw-head or body of the coupling, which is cast in one piece and is centrally located upon and secured by bolts or othermeans to the cross-bar A. The said draw-head is chambered at b and is provided in the upper wall of said chamber with a slot 0 and in theopposite sidewalls thereof with coincident apertures d. It is also provided below its chambered portion with a depending arm (2 and an obliquely-disposed tube f,

shown.

D is the draw-bar of the coupling, which is pivotally connected to the draw-head by a pintle 2', extending through the apertures d,

and is designed to freely swing up and down in the vertically-elongated mouthj of chamber 12 and be held against lateral" movement by the side walls thereof. The said drawbar is cast hollow as far as practicable for the sake of lightness and is provided at its rear end with an upwardly-extending lug 7c, beveled at its rear side, as shown. It also has the interior of its forward portion tapered or gradually increased in width toward its forward end to receive the shank Z of a coupler E, which is pivotally secured in the draw-bar by a pin m, as shown,

The coupler E is preferably of the Master Oar-Builders type, although it may be of any other construction, if desired, and its shank is arranged in the tapered mouth of the drawbar in the manner stated in order to enable it to freelyswing in a lateral direction, as is necessary.

FF are bolts screwed into the sides of the draw-bar, and G G are brace-rods for said draw-bar and, the, coupler carried thereby. The said rods are disposed at either side of the draw-bar and have their outer ends jourfnaled in long bearings n, connected to the cross-bar A, so as to, enable them to freely swing in a vertical direction; At their inner ends they have loops 19, disposed parallelto the draw-bar and receiving the bolts F, whereby it will be seen that they are enabled, when the draw-bar and coupler are, in their elevated operative position, to substantially brace the coupler without interfering with the necessary free lateral motion thereof.

H is a gravitating latch arranged in the slot 0 of the draw-head and adapted to engage the lug k of the draw-bar, after the manner shown in Fig. 1, to hold said draw-bar'in its raised position. This latch is loosely connected to an arm q of a rook-shaft I, journaled in suitable bearings on and extending to one side of the locomotive, and is adapted to be raised, through the medium of said rock-shaft, to release the draw-bar and permit the same to drop to its lower inoperative position in the space a of the pilot. Said latch is also adapted to be raised by the lug is when the draw-bar is elevated and subsequently assume a position in front of the lug, so as to automatically secure the draw-bar and coupler in the elevated position. The automatic latch H may be depended upon tohold the draw-bar and coupler in their proper operative positions; but as an additional means of securityl prefer to employ the transverse, pin K. This auxiliary pin K is connected by a chain r te the shaft I and extends through apertures's in the side walls of the draw-head, the said apertures-being of a slightly-greater height than the pin, asshown in Fig. 2, so that in the event of the draw-head being worn a pin of slightly-greater height than pin K may be substituted therefor to support the draw-bar and coupler at the proper height.

L is a piece of't'ubingwhich is arrangedin the-tubular portion f of the draw-head casting, and M M are heads which are screwed on the endsof. the piece oftubing at opposite ends of the tubular portion f and serve in conjunction with the said piece of tubing to form; the fluid-pressure cylinder of my improvements.

"P is a piston-head provided with suitable packing t and. also with a tubular extension M, which extends loosely through an aperture o in. the cylinder-head M, and Q is a wroughtiron. piston-rod which is pivotally connected to. the under side .of the draw-bar D, as faras possible from the centerofmovement thereof, and'extends down into the tubular extension u. of the head P, as shown. The said rodis grooved at w to receive cross-pins a, this connectionwbeing provided in order to enable free movement ofthe outer end'of the rod and at the same time hold the piston head and rod together, so as to prevent the pistons striking' against and being damaged by the rod in theevent of a sudden application of fluidpressure. A: washer Q, of leather or other suitable material, ispreferablyplaced around the rodQ. and over the outer end of the tubular extensionu, as shown, in order to prevent gravel, dirt, and the like from entering said tubular extension and interfering with the movements ofthe piston.

Riis a pipe through the medium of which fluid-pressure is supplied to the cylinder. I prefer in practice to use compressed air vas the: means for raising the draw-bar and'coupler totheir operative position, and to this end contemplate carrying the pipe R back to the locomotive-cab and connecting it therein with a. valve or cook the plug of which is provided with a minute port for establishing communication between the pipe R and a source of compressed air and communication l between the pipe R and an exhaust, alternat-ely, the said minute port being advantageous because it prevents forcible raising of the draw-bar and coupler and also prevents against the piston-head P will slowly raise the drawbar and coupler to the position .shown in. Fig; l, in which position, they will be automatically secured by the gravity- [l'atch engaging the lug lc. Themif deemed necessary,the trainman may place the pin K below the draw-bar, as. shownin Fig; 2, for ;the purpose'before described, When it is f desired to lower the draw-bar and'couplerto their inoperative position in the spaced of the pilot, it is first necessary to disengage the latch-H and pin K' from the draw-bar and then turn the valve to a position establishing communication between the pipeR and the exhaust. "With this done air will passslowly out of the cylinder, and by so doing will eush- "ion the piston head P in its descent, a n d thereby cause the draw-bar and couplerlto drop gently into the space a, where they will ;be out of the way. k .7 7

It will be appreciated fromthe foregoing that the fluid-pressure cylinder is heldin and fixed with respect to'the draw-headcasting, and therefore all liability of the cylinder changing its position and causingsaffailure in theoperation of, the device isremoved. It will also be appreciated that the draw-head or main casting of my improvementsis ready for use as it comesfrom the foundry, nor'mae .chinework being necessary thereon, so that the draw-bar casting-is also ready for use when delivered from the. foundry, with the single exception that screw-tapped apertures have; to be formed therein for the reception of. bolts F. From this it follows that .the drawhead or main casting and the draw-bar may be produced very cheaply,,which materially lessens the cost of the. coupleras a whole without detractin gin any way fromits strengthand durability.

I have entered into a specific description of thecon-st ruction and relative arrangement of the parts embracedin the present embodiment of the invention in order to impart a full, clear, and exact understanding of the same. I do not, however, desire to be understood as confining myself to such specificiconstruction and arrangement of parts, as such changes or modifications may be made. in practice as fairly fall within the scopeofmy invention. V v N Having thus'described my invention, what 1. In means for raisinglocomotivespilot draw-bars, adraw-head', a cylinderheld in a draw-bars, a draw-head or main casting hav- 7 portion of and fixed with respect to the drawhead and connected with a fluid-pressure sup-.

ply, a piston working in the cylinder, and a connection between the piston and bar.

2. In means for raising locomotive-pilot draw-bars, a draw-head or main casting, a vertically-swinging draw-bar connected thereto, a cylinder held in and fixed to the draw-head or main casting and connected with a fluidpressure supply, a piston working in the cylinder, and a connection between the piston and bar.

3. In means for raising locomotive-pilot ing a tubular portion, a cylinder secured in said tubular portion and connected with a source of fluid-pressure supply, a vertically swinging draw-bar connected to the draw head, a piston working in the cylinder, and a connection between the piston and the drawbar, substantially as specified.

4. In a locomotive-pilot coupling, a draw head, a fluid-pressure cylinder, a draw-bar pivotally connected to the draw-head, a piston working in the cylinder, a connection between the piston and draw-bar, and a latch for automatically engaging and holding the draw-bar in its raised position, substantially as specified.

5. In a locomotive-pilot coupling, a drawhead, a fluid-pressure cylinder, a draw-bar pivoted in the draw-head and having an upwardly-extending beveledlug, a piston work ing in the cylinder and connected with the draw-bar, and a gravity-latch arranged to be raised by the lug of the draw-bar and adapted to drop in front of the same, substantially as specified.

6. In a locomotive-pilot coupling, adrawhead, a fluid-pressure cylinder, a draw-bar pivoted in the drawhead and having an upwardly-extending beveled lug, a piston working in the cylinder, a gravity-latch arranged to be raised by the lug of the draw-bar and adapted to drop in front of the same, and a transverse rock-shafthaving an arm connected with said latch, substantially as specified.

7. In a locomotive-pilot coupling, a drawhead or main casting having a tubular portion, a fluid-pressure cylinder secured in said tubular portion, a draw-bar pivoted in the draw-head and having anupwardly-extending beveled lug, a piston working in the cylin der and connected with the draw-bar, and a gravity-latch arranged in a vertical aperture in the draw-head and adapted to be raised by the lug of the dravwbar and drop in front of the same.

8. In a locomotive-pilot coupling, the combination of a chambered draw-head having coincident angular apertures in its side walls and an aperture in its top wall, a draw-bar pivoted in said draw-head and having an upwardly-extending beveled lug, a fluid-pressure cylinder, a piston working in said cylinder and connected with thedraw-bar, a gravity-latch movable in the aperture in the top wall of the'draw-head and adapted to autotion removably arranged in the coincident apertures in'the side walls of the draw-head, substantially as specified.

9. In a -locomotive-pilot coupling, the combination of a draw-head or main casting, a cylinder held in and fixed thereto and connected to a source of fluid-pressure supply, a piston working in said cylinder, and a piston-rod connected in a swiveled manner to the piston and also connected to the drawbar, substantially as specified.

10. Inalocomotive-pilot coupling, the combination of a draw-head or main casting having a tubular portion, a draw-bar pivotally connected to the draw-head, a fiuid-pressure cylinder comprising a tube arranged in the tubular portion of the draw-head or main casting, and heads secured on said tube at opposite ends of the tubular portion of the casting, a piston workingin the cylinder, and

a connection between the piston and drawto the draw-bar, and a suitable closure for the outer end of the tubular extension, substantially as specified.

12. In a locomotive-pilot coupling, the combination of a draw-head or main casting having a tubular portion, a draw-bar pivotally connected to the draw-head, a fluid-pressure cylinder comprising a tube arranged in the tubular portion of the draw-head or main casting, and heads secured on said tube at opposite ends of the tubular portion of the casting, a piston working in the cylinder and having a tubular extension passed through one of the heads thereof, a piston-rod swiveled in the tubular extension of the piston and connected to the draw-bar, and a suitable closure for the outer end of the tubular extension, substantially as specified.

13. In a locomotive-pilot coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a fluid-pressure cylinder, a draw-bar pivoted in the draw-head, a piston working in the cylinder-and having a tubular extension passed through one of the heads thereof, a piston-rod interposed between the piston and draw-bar and connected to the latter and having a groove in its portion within the tubular extension, and crossbars connected to said tubular extension and resting in the groove of the rod, substantially as specified.

14. In a 10GOIIlOl1i\8*Pl10ll coupling, the com bar pivotd in said draw-head so as to swing my hndin presehce of two s 'ulb scribifigiwitvertically, andbrace-r0ds journaled at their outer-'enqs in bearings and having slotted-portions at their inner ends arranged parallel to '5 5 and. receiving lateral projections on the drawbar, substantially as specified.

In testintiony whereof I have hereunrilo set nesses. I I u GEORGEW. BUTCHER;

Witnesses: I I R. J. BOYLE,

H. E. AIKEN. V 

